Monday, November 3, 2025 – The looming wildfire crisis in the Arctic

Researchers are documenting more and longer-lasting wildfires in northern Alaska and Canada. In fact, the increase of wildfires is a trend across the Arctic, as far as Norway and Siberia, driven by higher temperatures and dryer conditions. The trend has immediate threats to people’s homes and health. Some tribes in Alaska and Canada also worry about the possibility of a long-term cataclysmic cycle of fires burning through vast stores of peat, producing uncountable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. We’ll get a look at the latest research and learn what concerned Alaska Native tribes and other Indigenous stakeholders are doing to prepare.

GUESTS

Edward Alexander (Gwich’in), co-chair for Gwich’in Council International and senior Arctic Lead Woodwell Climate Research Center

Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson (Métis), senior fire advisor for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and board member of the International Association of Wildland Fire

Malinda Chase (Deg Hit’an), tribal liaison for the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center under the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the land manager for her village Anvik

Break 1 Music: Blueberry Hill (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) Northwest Voyage Nord Ouest (album)

Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)